Close X
Friday, November 8, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canada Must Guard Against Terrorism: PM Harper

IANS, 24 Jun, 2015 12:56 PM
    Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism and so "continued vigilance is essential", Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said.
     
    Harper made the remarks on Tuesday while laying a wreath in the Hall of Honour to mark the "National day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism" observed to honour those killed in the 1985 Air India bombing.
     
    An Air India flight flying from Toronto to London crashed off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 people on board. Most of the dead were Canadians of Indian origin. 
     
    Sikh extremists were blamed for the bombing.
     
    Harper said he cannot "help but cast his mind back to the Canadians who perished in Air India Flight 182 and in the World Trade Centre attacks... and to the many terrorist activities foiled by the vigilance of Canadian security agencies.
     
    "The recollections serve as a reminder that Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism and that continued vigilance is essential."
     
    Addressing a gathering in parliament building here, he said it was a terror attack that killed the 329 passengers and crew members aboard Air India. 
     
    "On this sombre anniversary, we stand in solidarity with the friends and families who lost loved ones in that heinous attack and honour those lost.
     
    "We were deeply moved by this solemn tribute as well as by our meeting the kin of the victims," he added.
     
    Among the kin of the victims present was Susheel Gupta, whose mother Ramvati died in the bombing. Gupta said he regretted that his children would not be able to meet their grandmother.
     
    Meanwhile, a memorial service in Ireland was attended by India's Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan and Canadian Minister of Justice Peter MacKay.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Go-Slow Strategy In Play At Duffy Trial Seems To Frustrate Presiding Judge

    Go-Slow Strategy In Play At Duffy Trial Seems To Frustrate Presiding Judge
    Justice Charles Vaillancourt says after 14 days of arguments and testimony, he's only just beginning to see the broad brush strokes of the issues at hand.

    Go-Slow Strategy In Play At Duffy Trial Seems To Frustrate Presiding Judge

    More Residents Set To Leave Northern Ontario Community Threatened By Flood

    More Residents Set To Leave Northern Ontario Community Threatened By Flood
    Chief Derek Stephen says 600 vulnerable residents of Kashechewan on the western shore of James Bay are the first to be evacuated.

    More Residents Set To Leave Northern Ontario Community Threatened By Flood

    Airpark Owner Says He Warned Pilot About Engine Before Highway 91 Landing

    Airpark Owner Says He Warned Pilot About Engine Before Highway 91 Landing
    Arnold Klappe of King George Airpark says he and his mechanic told Paul Deane-Freeman about the condition of his plane's engine on several occasions, and even priced out the parts needed to fix it.

    Airpark Owner Says He Warned Pilot About Engine Before Highway 91 Landing

    6.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits British Columbia's North Coast, No Tsunami

    6.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits British Columbia's North Coast, No Tsunami
    The 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Haida Gwaii region approximately 167 km southeast of the Village of Queen Charlotte at about 7 a.m. Friday.

    6.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits British Columbia's North Coast, No Tsunami

    High Court OKs Extradition Of Two To Face Cold Case Murder Charges

    High Court OKs Extradition Of Two To Face Cold Case Murder Charges
    OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for two men to be extradited to New Hampshire to face trial in a decades-old double murder.

    High Court OKs Extradition Of Two To Face Cold Case Murder Charges

    Battle Over DND Budget As Liberals Claim Spending On Track To Historical Low

    OTTAWA — Numbers compiled by the federal Liberals suggest spending on the Canadian military will hit a historic low in the coming decade, despite a planned Conservative injection of $11.8 billion starting in 2017.

    Battle Over DND Budget As Liberals Claim Spending On Track To Historical Low